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Monica Wright Rodgers is making history as the general manager of Canada’s first and only WNBA team, the Toronto Tempo, which is scheduled to tip off their inaugural season in 2026. Although she has only been on the job a week, Wright Rodgers said that she can already feel the city backing her.
“Once I stepped foot in this city — despite the snow — that excitement has exponentially increased in just feeling the appetite and excitement from fans and everyone in the sports world here, we have no shortage of support,” Wright Rodgers said on Thursday, via CBC Sports.
The challenges of putting together a competitive team are numerous for an expansion franchise such as the Tempo, and the pathway to success could be more difficult. While there is much work to do for Wright Rodgers and her team, including finding a coach and constructing a roster, she is excited to ink her first player.
“I’m excited to sign our first player,” Wright Rogers said. “In terms of our timeline, we’ve got time to pull the best brains together and strategize about how we want to approach this unprecedented time in the WNBA and women’s sports as a whole.”
The first player will likely be a good one as 21 WNBA All-Stars could be free agents in 2026 including two-time NBA champion Kelsey Plum, Kia Nurse, who is from Hamilton, Ontario and three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson.
Hopes for the Toronto Tempo in year one
In 2026, the latest WNBA franchise, the Toronto Tempo, will tip off their first season.
As the obstacles of forming a winning team are numerous, Tempo general manager Monica Wright Rodgers will have to lean heavily on her championship experience, having won titles with the Minnesota Lynx in 2011 and 2013, if she wishes to achieve her goal to “simply win.”
“I was very early on with the Lynx in their dynasty in the early stages and so being a part of the build of a championship culture, a championship team,” Wright Rodgers said on Thursday, via CBC Sports. ” … I pull from that every day. I’m hoping to make sure that that is ingrained into the culture of this franchise as well.”
A major component in establishing that winning culture will be a coach who is on the same page with Wright Rodgers. She has not divulged who that coach may be but told CBC Sports that she “feels good about where things are at” in terms of the coaching search.
As they look to build their roster through the expansion draft and free agency, scouting will be paramount as the Toronto Tempo will look to sign players who can help them win and fit the culture they want to build.
Should the Tempo do the proper and thorough work of establishing a solid foundation of a quality coach and bringing in solid players, competing for a playoff spot will not be out of the question.
Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez
